Harley ousts CEO

[mikesim]

I just read where the MoCo has just ousted 26 year HD veteran Matt Levatich as CEO. Things must be getting bad in Milwaukee as the board of directors has lost confidence in Levatich. HD has made a lot of mistakes recently and has sat on its laurels rather than envisioning new product. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figger out that the pirates would die out sooner or later and then whom do you sell to? I really question their choice of the new Chairman Jochen Zeitz. Zeitz has been a board member since 2007 and was the driving force behind the new Livewire (smart move?). He really is not a bike guy and IMHO that what Harley really needs. New paint colors and tinware ala Wille G no longer work. It will take vision and new bikes to appeal to the entire market, not just the pirates. The Pan American seems to me to be the right approach if it is priced competitively and is reliable. The Livewire at an eye watering $30K is a non-starter. I expect to see fire sales on them soon.

Mike

 

[DirtFlier]

I saw that this morning and didn't make too much of it because CEOs get swapped out regularly. As you pointed out, he had a hopeless task so it'd be hard to blame him about H-Ds precepitious (sp?) drop in sales. And don't worry, he has enough money to make end meet.

 

[mikesim]

I saw that this morning and didn't make too much of it because CEOs get swapped out regularly. As you pointed out, he had a hopeless task so it'd be hard to blame him about H-Ds precepitious (sp?) drop in sales. And don't worry, he has enough money to make end meet.

Yup! If you wuz CEO fer seven years and don't have enough $ salted away for contingencies, you really had no business being CEO.

Mike

 

[junglejim]

I have serious questions about HD Board of Directors too. I've seen some terrible decisions come form them. One in particular related to making certain parts in their own facility or buying them from China (or maybe Japan). The decision process became terribly corrupt with union and political considerations winning the day. It wasn't about the motorcycle at all.

 

[DirtFlier]

I'd honestly like to see more manufacturing done here so maybe consumer goods need to have "local content" showing the percentage of what came from overseas?

 

[mikesim]

It looks like the Corona virus may force us to rethink outsourcing our manufacturing to other countries. Maybe a good thing, especially with critical items such as pharmaceuticals.

 

[ARKNT]

Harley has ridden this train for a long time. Made a lot of $$ in the process. They have done very well in the past but that is still the past.
I hope they hold together and develop good, popular rides for the future. I don't think it is easy for any bike manufacturers, including Harley, the markets are changing as old farts quit riding.

This virus may open some peoples eyes to outsourcing nearly everything we buy here, but we are pretty slow to learn sometimes.

Brad

 

[Chucksklrst]

The New Harley Pan Am Looks good from the handle bars back. But the front headlight faring looks Butt Ugly. I mean it look like an Ugly Butt. Not sure about the motor but the bike is sure to be too heavy both in weight and price. Great Idea, not so good implementation. Wonder how many will sell and how many of them will ever see off road travel.

 

[Coyote Chris]

It looks like the Corona virus may force us to rethink outsourcing our manufacturing to other countries. Maybe a good thing, especially with critical items such as pharmaceuticals.

Saw an article on the news about that.....I have always had heartburn about becoming dependant on certain countries for things like lithium ion batteries. I knew that though we think certain drugs come from here, the main ingrediants really dont...I will refrain from mentioning the drugs as you will know shortly anyway, I am sure. We are at least breaking our dependance on Russia for rocket engines.

 

[Coyote Chris]

I just read where the MoCo has just ousted 26 year HD veteran Matt Levatich as CEO. Things must be getting bad in Milwaukee as the board of directors has lost confidence in Levatich. HD has made a lot of mistakes recently and has sat on its laurels rather than envisioning new product. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figger out that the pirates would die out sooner or later and then whom do you sell to? I really question their choice of the new Chairman Jochen Zeitz. Zeitz has been a board member since 2007 and was the driving force behind the new Livewire (smart move?). He really is not a bike guy and IMHO that what Harley really needs. New paint colors and tinware ala Wille G no longer work. It will take vision and new bikes to appeal to the entire market, not just the pirates. The Pan American seems to me to be the right approach if it is priced competitively and is reliable. The Livewire at an eye watering $30K is a non-starter. I expect to see fire sales on them soon.

Mike

HD has painted itself into a corner. They elected to not make bikes that appeal to anyone but pirates so as to not offend the pirates and when the last pirate is gone, they will be too unless the rumor is true that the only way out will be taken by them...to integrate with an existing Asian manufacturer, probably in India, and make non pirate bikes there. As the pirates die off, and their used bikes come on the market, it will be interesting to see the sales figures of the new pirate bikes.
I would like to believe that motorcyclist like us will live on a bit longer, but I fear we too are dinasours....Its been a fun 60 years! (It is interesting that Retro firearms do so well in a shrinking shooting market) Maybe Harley can build me a Y13!

 

[Phil Tarman]

If you had that, I'm sure you clean out the rest of the stable. It would be more comfortable and faster than your FJR or VFR. More reliable, too.

 

[mikesim]

If you had that, I'm sure you clean out the rest of the stable. It would be more comfortable and faster than your FJR or VFR. More reliable, too.

Ummmmm…. I'm not sure, but I think there is some law against using the term reliable in context with BSA.... had something to do with Lucas Electrics IIRC.

:LOL:

Mike

 

[suvcw04]

Lucas . . . Lord of Darkness.

 

[mikesim]

Lucas . . . Lord of Darkness.

Yup! All their lighting switches had three positions... On, off and flicker..

Mike

 

[junglejim]

Yup! All their lighting switches had three positions... On, off and flicker.

WRONG Mike. - That was Off, Dim, and Flicker

Your memory in flickering!

 

[mikesim]

WRONG Mike. - That was Off, Dim, and Flicker

Your memory in flickering!

Ain't it the truth

Mike

 

[Phil Tarman]

Back in '77, we moved from south Texas to Santa Rosa, CA. After we'd been there a few weeks we went on a Sunday afternoon drive over to the Napa Valley and everywhere we looked, we were seeing sports cars with the tops down. My wife decided she had to have one. Since I had a company car I could use as a personal vehicle for anything we needed, and because I hated her '74 Grand Prix, we started looking and ended up with a '67 MG-B. It was a pretty good little car once replaced everything made of rubber until my son started driving it in '81. When we left Casper to move to Limon after I came back into the ministry in '80, we left the MG with him. By the end of the year it wasn't running. One of the 6V batteries under the rear baggage area had died and we couldn't find a 6V battery in Casper. So we ended up kludging together a 12V installation and managed to get the car moved to Limon when his school year ended. We owned it for another 10 years and no matter what we did, we never could keep it running. Every problem was some untraceable electrical issue. We assume that somehow we had let all the smoke out. :-(

 

[mikesim]

Yup, once you let all the smoke out, yer screwed!

Mike

 

[DirtFlier]

I can remember when the Brit cars went to using a 12v system and lots of them had two 6-volt batteries mounted somewhere - nothing like finding a home for another 25 pound lump! It only surprised me that they didn't continue fitting wooden, spoked wheels to their cars!

 

[suvcw04]

The Morgan was all wood . . . frame and body.
I wonder if you had to fumigate it every other oil change?

 

[Phil Tarman]

Morgan is promising an "all-new" Plus 4 for 2020. It was to be unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show, but that got canceled due to coronavirus.